The invention relates to a delivery apparatus for keeping food product warm during transport, and to a method for delivering food.
Food products, such as pizza, are frequently prepared and cooked at a store location. The prepared food product is then delivered to a customer at a home or place of business.
A freshly cooked food product may be stored at the store location awaiting a delivery person""s transportation of the food product to the customer. It is common to prepare pizza and store it in a cardboard box. The cardboard box is placed under a heat lamp awaiting pickup by a delivery person. The delivery person then stores the cardboard box in a thermally insulated carrying case for delivery to the consumer. Despite these methods, the product may lose heat during storage and transportation and the temperature of the product may decrease. If the product becomes too cool, it may become unacceptable to a customer. As a result, attention has been directed at techniques for keeping a food product warm after it has been cooked.
The prior art describes delivery apparatus that can be used to keep food items warm during transportation. For example the following U.S. Patents describe such prior art delivery apparatus: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,999,699 to Hyatt; 5,932,129 to Hyatt; 5,892,202 to Baldwin et al.; 5,880,435 to Bostic; 5,884,006 to Frohlich et al.; and 5,750,962 to Hyatt.
A delivery apparatus is provided by the invention. The delivery apparatus includes a container for holding an article to be delivered and a heater, and an enunciating device for displaying temperature conditions within the container. The container includes a plurality of walls forming an interior area and an opening, wherein the opening is provided with a size sufficient to allow movement of the article and the heater from outside the container to within the interior area of the container. The container includes a flap for selectively covering and uncovering the opening to allow access to the interior area of the container. The heater is constructed and arranged for placement within the interior area of the container and is provided for heating the article. The enunciating device includes a temperature sensor for sensing temperature within the container, a temperature display for displaying temperature conditions within the container, and a power source for operating the enunciating device.
A method for delivering food is provided by the invention. The method includes steps of (a) charging the delivery apparatus with thermal energy and (b) delivering food in the delivery apparatus.
An enunciating device is provided according to the invention. The enunciating device includes a temperature sensor for sensing temperature within a container, a temperature display for displaying temperature conditions within the container, and a power source for operating the enunciating device. The enunciating device can be constructed so that it is resistive to heat and humidity associated with food transport and is portable so that it can be attached and detached from a portable delivery container. Preferably, the enunciating device weights less than 0.5 pound and more preferably less than three ounces.